Murphy Law Firm

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell, alleging that BP has not cooperated with state agencies investigating the ongoing Gulf oil spill, has asked a state court to order the British oil giant and several of its subsidiaries to produce the requested information.

The 17-page pleading filed in East Baton Rouge Parish District Court is not a lawsuit seeking damages, but is a key preliminary maneuver in advance of what Caldwell called an "imminent" suit on taxpayers' behalf. The state cannot move forward, Caldwell said, without gaining access to BP personnel and records "to gather information as part of the state's investigation as to the causes of the spill and the impacts to the state."

The state can try to recoup its response and recovery costs and compensation for damages to natural resources and the loss of tax revenues from economic effects. Gov. Bobby Jindal already has asked BP, independent of litigation, for a $300 million response fund and $475 million for a seafood safety program. BP has so far given the state a $25 million grant, $5 million of which went to Caldwell's office for spill-related expenses.

After the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound, the state of Alaska and the federal government reached a joint settlement for more than $1 billion. That suit hinged partly on the findings of scientists and experts whose work was paid for with funds from Exxon. The Gulf spill that has flowed since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20 now far exceeds the 11 million gallons lost from the Valdez.

Though Caldwell's filing does not seek monetary damages, the document lays out facts and allegations about the spill, BP's failed attempts to cap the leaking well and initial damage observations that will form the core of any litigation.

"It is undisputed that Louisiana marshes, wetlands, shores, ecology, economy, tourism, waters and wildlife have been and will continue to be profoundly impacted by the Gulf oil spill," the filing states. "The state therefore seeks any and all information which is in defendant's possession regarding the circumstances surrounding the explosion, fire and consequences of the oil spill."

That includes, the state says, all information about the spill's "volume and rate of flow," the "composition of the mud used in the drilling and top kill operations," water and air quality data, and assessments of oiled and injured wildlife. As for toxic dispersants, the state seeks BP's records about "the use and effects ... and any and all information considered in evaluating and choosing said dispersants."

The state also accuses BP of not sharing enough information about its claims process, thus frustrating the Louisiana Workforce Commission's ability to manage its employment programs for affected residents.

The request comes as Caldwell seeks to bolster his legal team via legislative appropriations and the power to hire outside counsel on contingency. Direct appropriations are complicated by the state's tight budget, while the contingency bill has inflamed the traditional battle between the business lobby and the plaintiffs bar.

Caldwell has said that Alaska taxpayers had to spend about $1 million a week for three years in its litigation against Exxon. Jindal in previous years opposed giving Caldwell contingency contract authority, though he has hedged on that since the spill.

The attorney general's office has not released any contracts it has signed with outside counsel since the Gulf spill.

Besides Caldwell, the filing is signed by attorneys from Kanner & Whiteley of New Orleans; Marten Law of Seattle; Henry Dart Attorneys at Law of Covington; Usry, Weeks & Matthews of New Orleans; and E. Wade Show of Baton Rouge.

If you or someone you love is dealing with the effects of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, contact us at Murphy Law Firm to learn more about your rights to compensation. Schedule a free initial consultation with an attorney by calling us at 225-928-8800 or toll free at 800-734-6545. We work on a contingency basis, which means we do not receive any attorney fees unless we recover damages for you.

Citing a law typically used against fishers and hunters who exceed legal limits, Plaquemines Parish District Attorney Charles Ballay has sued British Petroleum and its subsidiaries in state court for damages caused by the Deepwater Horizion oil spill to the parish's wildlife.

Ballay's suit, which was filed in 25th Judicial Court on Tuesday, joins a growing number of lawsuits filed against the oil company for damages the leak has caused to local businesses and parishes. In a press release distributed Thursday, Ballay said that Louisiana hunters and fishers are punished whenever they illegally kill or damage the state's wetlands, and BP should be held to the same standard.

"It is only fair that this statute and penalty be used against BP and other responsible parties for this catastrophic loss since it is used on individuals on a regular basis for doing damage to our wildlife, such as when someone catches over the limit of redfish or trout," Ballay said in the news release. "A major corporation that does the damage that we have incurred should certainly be held accountable."

Louisiana law allows BP to be cited for all wildlife killed and the company would then have to pay a civil penalty for each animal, Ballay said. The lawsuit says that dead fish, birds and other wildlife have been washing ashore in Plaquemines Parish.

If you or someone you love is dealing with the effects of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, contact us at Murphy Law Firm to learn more about your rights to compensation. Schedule a free initial consultation with an attorney by calling us at 225-928-8800 or toll free at 800-734-6545. We work on a contingency basis, which means we do not receive any attorney fees unless we recover damages for you.

WASHINGTON — The latest glimpse of video footage of the oil spill deep under the Gulf of Mexico indicates that around 95,000 barrels, or 4 million gallons, a day of crude oil may be spewing from the leaking wellhead, 19 times the previous estimate, an engineering professor told Congress Wednesday.

The figure of 5,000 barrels, or 210,000 gallons, a day that BP and the federal government have been using for weeks is based on observations of the surface slick made by satellites and aircraft. Even NASA's satellite-based instruments, however, can't see deep into the waters of the gulf, where much of the oil from the gusher seems to be floating. The well is 5,000 feet below the surface.

Adm. Thad Allen, the commandant of the Coast Guard, said in an interview Wednesday that he'd had many conversations over the past week or more with other government science officials about how to get a more precise calculation of the flow, a better estimate of the total oil in the gulf since the April 20 explosion and an accurate assessment of what's happening to the oil on the surface.

Allen said his advisers are considering putting sensors near the leak that would give a better understanding of the amount of oil entering the water. "It's coming together very nicely. I'm satisfied we'll have the right people," he said. It's not yet known when the equipment would be ready to use, he added.

Sonar equipment already has been used to try to figure out how well chemical dispersants are working at deep levels, Allen said.

"I don't mean to be glib, but it's kind of hard to measure the amount of water you're putting on a fire while you're fighting a fire," he said. Federal agencies got as much equipment assembled as they could to keep the oil away from shore by skimming, burning and other measures, he said.

There's also limited space for the robotic vehicles to work near the spill site as BP engineers try to contain the spill, which is the top priority, he said.

Allen announced plans to assemble the team of experts to measure the size of the spill during hearings on Tuesday. NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco said that it would be important, but difficult, to figure out the amount of oil from the ruptured wellhead.

Steve Wereley, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., earlier this month made simple calculations from a single video BP released on May 12 and calculated a flow of 70,000 barrels a day, NPR reported last week.

On Wednesday, Wereley told a House of Representatives Energy and Commerce subcommittee that his calculations of two leaks that are on videos BP released on Tuesday showed 70,000 barrels from one leak and 25,000 from the other.

He said the margin of error was about 20 percent, making the spill between 76,000 and 104,000 barrels a day. However, Wereley said he'd need to see videos that showed the flow over a longer period to get a better calculation of the mix of oil and gas from the wellhead.

Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who led the hearing, said he'd work to get that information from BP.

"The true extent of this spill remains a mystery," Markey said. He said BP had said that the flow rate was not relevant to the cleanup effort. "This faulty logic that BP is using is . . . raising concerns that they are hiding the full extent of the damage of this leak."

Markey said he wrote to BP last week asking how it made its estimate and whether it had refused offers by scientists to provide better estimates. He said BP merely sent back an acknowledgement of the receipt of his letter, but didn't answer.

Richard Camilli, an associate scientist in the department of applied ocean physics and engineering at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, told Markey and others on the panel that he responded to a request for help from BP on May 1 to get a look inside the failed blowout preventer.

Camilli develops instrument sensors and robotic technology to detect pollution in the ocean below the surface. He suggested using multi-beam sonar and an acoustic current profiler to measure the flow of oil and gas. That would help scientists determine if the blowout preventer was partially constricted and what happened to it, he said.

BP was at first interested, but a few days later declined the offer.

Camilli said the same instruments could be used to estimate the total spill volume.

Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., asked Camilli and the other scientists who testified if knowing the amount was important.

"Absolutely," Camilli said. "It's like balancing your checkbook. You have to know where the oil has gone, where the gas has gone, and what the eventual fate will be."

Wereley said it's crucial to know the rate of the flow of oil to figure out what could stop it.

Frank Muller-Karger, a professor of biological oceanography and remote sensing at the University of South Florida, said it's important to know the real amount of the spill.

In another hearing on Wednesday, the chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship pressed officials from the Small Business Administration and the Government Accountability Office to streamline the loan process for business owners in the wake of the spill.

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said she's concerned that small business will fail while waiting for financial relief.

James Rivera, an associate administrator in the Small Business Administration, said his office made strides, streamlining the process for applicants and allowing existing borrowers to deter loan payments.

This article was written by Renee Schoof and Lauren French of McClatchy Newspapers

If you or someone you love is dealing with the effects of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, contact us at Murphy Law Firm to learn more about your rights to compensation. Schedule a free initial consultation with an attorney by calling us at 225-928-8800 or toll free at 800-734-6545. We work on a contingency basis, which means we do not receive any attorney fees unless we recover damages for you.

VENICE, LA. -- A tide of sludgy oil has begun washing into the fringes of Louisiana's coastal marshes, officials said Tuesday, as BP continued to siphon some of the oil gushing from a damaged well on the gulf floor but remained days away from trying to cap the leak.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told Senate committees Tuesday that the company would attempt a "dynamic kill" of the oil well Saturday. That procedure involves pumping thick mud into the well in hopes of blocking the oil.

And hundreds of miles from the Louisiana coast, there was a worrisome discovery: Tar balls, sticky clumps of decayed oil, were found Monday in Key West, Fla. Officials said they were being tested to determine whether they came from the leaking BP well.

But the most ominous news came from south Louisiana, where the Mississippi Delta peters out into the Gulf of Mexico. There, instead of the tar balls that had previously washed ashore from the spill, thick, brown oil was infiltrating the edges of the marshes.

"If I had been standing up, I would have fell to my knees," said Billy Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish, La., about the moment that he heard the news. Nungesser, whose parish follows the Mississippi out to sea, said the oil had been spotted at places called South Pass and Pass-a-Loutre. "It's our greatest fear."

If these marshes are destroyed by oil, it could mean huge losses for the area's seafood industry and a reduction in Louisiana's already skimpy shield against a hurricane storm surge. "We're finished. We're out of business" if that happens, Nungesser said.

This news was not a huge surprise: For days, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted that thick oil might make landfall near here. These marshes are the closest land to the spot where the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig sank April 22.

But Louisiana officials said the oil's arrival underscored the need for their radical-sounding solution: the construction of a chain of small offshore islands to block the oil from the coast.

"This is the first time we've seen this much heavy oil this far into our wetlands," Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal(R) said at a news conference here in Venice, the last town before the coastal marshes begin. "We know there's a lot more heavy oil behind it that hasn't made it to shore yet."

Also Tuesday, BP said it was slowly increasing the amount of oil it was siphoning away from the leaking well, using a tube inserted into a broken-off pipe Sunday. BP said it was removing 2,000 barrels of oil a day from the leak, up from 1,000.

It's not clear how much of the spilling oil that represents: Officials had first estimated the leak at 5,000 barrels a day, but outside experts have said it appears much larger than that. Video of the leak, released by U.S.Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), showed oil continuing to billow out of the leaking pipe, even with the siphon pipe inserted into it.

The company's plan to stop the leak involves pumping heavy "kill mud" at 40 barrels a minute into openings in the blowout preventer, a mechanism that surrounds the drill pipe. If the influx of mud does not clog the drill pipe, a BP spokesman said, the company could still use a "junk shot" later -- pumping larger debris such as golf balls and pieces of tire into the mechanism.

Mark Proegler, a BP spokesman, said the company had not used the mud-pumping technique earlier because it had to first gather data about pressures inside the blowout preventer. "It takes a while to gather the information we need," he said.

So far, officials said, the oil has not caused catastrophic damage on shore: Just 23 "oiled" birds have been found dead, in contrast to the tens of thousands killed by the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989. But scientists are worried about vast areas of oil floating underwater, unseen.

That worry was heightened by Monday's discovery in Key West. If the tar balls found there are determined to have come from the BP leak, that could mean some oil has made its way into the Inner Loop currents of the Gulf Stream. NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchencosaid that oil swept up in the current might take eight to 10 days to reach the Florida Keys.

Exxon Mobil, meanwhile, said it had delayed plans to start drilling an exploration well this week in the Gulf of Mexico.

This article was written by David A. Fahrenthold and Joel Achenbach of the Washington Post

If you or someone you love is dealing with the effects of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, contact us at Murphy Law Firm to learn more about your rights to compensation. Schedule a free initial consultation with an attorney by calling us at 225-928-8800 or toll free at 800-734-6545. We work on a contingency basis, which means we do not receive any attorney fees unless we recover damages for you.

HOUMA — Terrebonne Parish District Attorney Joe Waitz has filed suit against oil giant BP, seeking money for wildlife killed or hurt by the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

The lawsuit, filed Monday, is among the first in an expected series from prosecutors in coastal parishes. St. Tammany Parish’s district attorney also sued the company Monday. Lafourche Parish prosecutors are scheduled to meet Wednesday to determine if they will file a similar lawsuit.

Each lawsuit will be handled within its own parish. Sixty percent of awarded money — if any — would go to the State Conservation Fund. The rest would go the district attorney’s office.

Don Carmouche, a Gonzales attorney who is a part of a team of lawyers handling the Terrebonne suit, said significant impact from the oil leak to Terrebonne and other parishes along the coast is certain.

“It’s real,” he said. “It’s going to be horrible, ultimately, for the state.”

Rig operator BP PLC estimates that the blown-out well has leaked more than 5 million gallons.

To date, environmental damage in the Terrebonne area hasn’t been as great as initially feared following the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion that killed 11 workers. Rig operator BP PLC estimates that the blown-out well has leaked more than 5 million gallons, sending tar balls onto barrier islands and impacting commercial and recreational fishing.

“We are not likely to know the extent of the damages to our people, our wildlife and aquatic life for some time,” Waitz said in a written statement. “We will not wait until the extent of the damage is known because we want all to be put on notice that dead or suffering wildlife and aquatic life are evidence and should not be destroyed.”

If you or someone you love is dealing with the effects of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, contact us at Murphy Law Firm to learn more about your rights to compensation. Schedule a free initial consultation with an attorney by calling us at 225-928-8800 or toll free at 800-734-6545. We work on a contingency basis, which means we do not receive any attorney fees unless we recover damages for you.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

A Miami-Dade jury has awarded a Sarasota man more than $14 million after deciding that the asbestos he inhaled in the 1970s caused his deadly abdominal cancer.

Jurors found that chemical giant Union Carbide was negligent for selling asbestos fibers to other companies, which had used the fibers to make joint compounds used by construction companies -- such as the one William Aubin's family owned.

According to Aubin, his parents, who founded Aubin Construction on Key Biscayne in the 1960s, used the asbestos-laden compounds. Aubin, now 59 and a retired firefighter, worked in his parents' company after they moved it to Sarasota.

That's how his client was exposed to asbestos and eventually developed peritoneal mesothelioma, said Juan Bauta, who argued the case for the Ferraro Law Firm.

``The products weren't labeled as containing asbestos,'' Bauta said.

Jurors also found that four of the compound manufacturers, including Georgia-Pacific, share some of the responsibility for causing Aubin's illness.

Peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare -- and usually fatal -- cancer that attacks the lining of the abdominal cavity and organs. Aubin's lawyers argued that he is ``permanently impaired and will ultimately and unfortunately die from mesothelioma.''

In April 2008, Miami-Dade jurors awarded more than $24 million to a Weston doctor who contracted the same illness.

It was the largest compensatory jury verdict involving a single defendant in a Florida asbestos case.

Bauta said he expects Union Carbide to appeal the verdict.

Michael Terry, a Texas-based attorney who represented the company, could not be reached for comment.

For many years, workers in Louisiana factories, refineries, shipyards and other industrial areas exposed themselves to asbestos, a hazardous material that was often used for insulation purposes. Due to this exposure, many of these workers developed mesothelioma, a deadly form of lung cancer. Companies that knew about the risks associated with asbestos should be held responsible for their injured workers.

Contact the Personal Injury Attorneys at Murphy Law Firm if you have been affected by exposure to asbestos at 225-928-8800.

As many as 152 families from three Homestead neighborhoods will be a part of the first class-action suit in the country over tainted drywall imported from China, providing hope that American companies will also have to pay for damage from the product, installed in new homes built during the housing boom and after a parade of hurricanes in 2004 and 2005.

On Thursday, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Joseph Farina approved class-action status for a case brought by Jason and Melissa Harrell, who bought a home in the Keys Gate neighborhood in 2008.

``It sets the groundwork for these cases to be resolved on a class-wide basis, rather than on a home-by-home basis,'' said the Harrells' attorney, Victor Diaz of the Miami firm Podhurst Orseck. ``If we have to go home by home, justice will be delayed.''

The suit targets homebuilder South Kendall Construction Corp., Palm Isles Holdings, Keys Gate Realty and Banner Supply and includes only condo, townhome and single-family homeowners living in the Palm Isles, Arbor Place and Augusta Green subdivisions, in and around where the Harrells lived.

Homeowners will receive a notice in the mail asking if they would like to join the suit.

Some brands of drywall imported from China have been found to emit large amounts of hydrogen sulfide, which corrodes and blackens some metal in homes and can make houses smell like rotten eggs. Many homeowners also believe the drywall is responsible for breathing problems and nosebleeds.

Nationwide, about 3,300 homeowners have complained to the Consumer Product Safety Commission about the drywall in their homes.

As the court waits to hear which eligible homeowners wish to join the Harrells' suit, another drywall case will be heard in Miami-Dade. On June 7, jury selection begins in a lawsuit filed by Armin and Linda Seifart against Banner Supply.

The Harrells bought their home in early 2008, hoping to build a pool and fence in the backyard so their two boys could play safely outside. But they moved into a rental home about a year later, when the smell became too much and their sons repeatedly became ill. After the couple struggled with mortgage payments and rent for months, the bank began foreclosure proceedings on their now-unsellable home.

``We're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,'' Melissa Harrell said, although she isn't sure a victory in court that will pay for repairs means moving back into their former home.

``There's a lot of bad memories,'' Jason Harrell said.

The couple is also suing drywall manufacturer Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin in federal court, but federal cases from around the country are all being heard by one judge in Louisiana. It could be months before that suit is resolved.

Federal Judge Eldon Fallon has begun ruling on cases and so far, he has awarded damages to homeowners from Virginia and Louisiana.

When a large group of people has suffered similar injuries due to the actions of a corporation, business or individual, it often makes more sense to file a class action or mass tort lawsuit rather than pursue individual claims. Class action and mass tort lawsuits provide an opportunity for groups of people, all of whom have been similarly wronged, to sue collectively. Class actions lawsuits often save claimants time and money.

Contact the Personal Injury Attorneys at Murphy Law Firm if you have been affected by defective Chinese drywall at 225-928-8800.

SANTA ANA, Calif., May 28 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge on Friday gave Toyota 30 days to turn over the bulk of documents sought by class-action lawyers from previous investigations of complaints about its cars racing out of control.

The order by U.S. District Judge James Selna marked a defeat for Toyota, capping the company's first courtroom skirmish with plaintiffs lawyers since scores of personal injury and class-action consumer claims filed in federal court against the automaker were consolidated last month.

The Japanese automaker faces potential civil liability estimated at more than $10 billion as it struggles to overcome an auto safety crisis that has badly tarnished its image.

Complaints of runaway vehicles have led to the recall of more than 8 million Toyota vehicles worldwide for repairs of ill-fitting floor mats and sticking gas pedals the automaker blames for surging engines.

Many of the lawsuits assert that at least some of the acceleration problems are rooted in an as-yet unidentified electronic glitch, which Toyota has vehemently denied.

Two key U.S. lawmakers have said their preliminary review of internal documents turned over to Congress suggest Toyota "consistently dismissed the possibility" of electronic failures for years without thoroughly examining the issue.

Those papers have remained largely confidential, except for a relative handful cited in recent congressional hearings on Toyota's handling of complaints of sudden, unintended acceleration in its vehicles.

FIRST COURTROOM SKIRMISH

They could prove valuable to plaintiffs' attorneys trying to substantiate their claims of product defects, negligence, fraud and other wrongdoing against Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T) (TM.N)

Under Selna's order, Toyota has 30 days to turn over any English-language documents it does not consider privileged -- those involving communications with its own lawyers.

Selna gave Toyota up to 60 days to produce Japanese-language papers among the documents, said by the automaker to number some 20,000 pages.

Any documents containing trade secrets or other information that might compromise Toyota's competitive position will be kept confidential under a protective order the judge said he would issue in the next 30 days.

Plaintiffs lawyers argued that swift disclosure of the documents would ease the task of drafting a newly consolidated version of all legal claims seeking compensation from Toyota for economic losses -- such as diminished resale value -- stemming from the acceleration problems and related recalls.

"We need all that material to form an educated complaint" against Toyota, lead plaintiffs attorney Steve Berman told a hearing before Selna.

But Toyota's lawyers countered that requesting such documents at this stage is premature and violates basic rules of pretrial discovery that govern the sharing of information between the two sides in litigation.

They also said more time was needed to sort through the documents to determine which were privileged.

In the end, the judge insisted that 30 days was sufficient for the bulk of documents already delivered to Congress and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Selna also rejected Toyota's recommendations for how the plaintiffs attorneys should structure their revised complaint.

"We're pleased with that," Berman said at the end of the hour-long hearing. The next hearing was set for June 23.

Toyota has said it is aware of nearly 230 federal lawsuits filed around the country for personal injury, wrongful death and economic loss claims stemming from acceleration issues -- all of them now wrapped together in the consolidated pre-trial proceedings overseen by Selna.

The company said it faces about 100 other lawsuits filed in various state courts around the country. About 40 of those are in California, where a state judge on Wednesday ordered them consolidated separately. He has recommended they be assigned to an Orange County court also.

NHTSA said this week that as many as 89 deaths could be linked to unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles, up from a previous tally of 52 fatalities.

Companies and businesses that create and sell products have a responsibility to ensure that those products are designed and manufactured safely. Unfortunately, defective products harm millions of people every year, as the desire to maximize profits too often trumps the responsibility to keep consumers safe. These companies should be held responsible for defective products through personal injury litigation.

Contact the Personal Injury Trial Attorneys at Murphy Law Firm if you have been injured by a defective product at 225-928-8800.

Companies and businesses that create and sell products have a responsibility to ensure that those products are designed and manufactured safely. Unfortunately, defective products harm millions of people every year, as the desire to maximize profits too often trumps the responsibility to keep consumers safe. These companies should be held responsible for defective products through personal injury litigation.

Contact the Personal Injury Trial Attorneys at Murphy Law Firm if you have been injured by a defective product at 225-928-8800.

Doors that could catch fire, brakes that could fail and accelerators that could stick have caused Chrysler Group LLC to recall nearly 600,000 vehicles involving five models in the United States, U.S. safety regulators said on Monday.

Chrysler informed the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the potential safety issues last week, the NHTSA reports show.

As many as 284,831 Chrysler Town and Country minivans and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans for model years 2008 and 2009 could develop a problem in the electrical system that could cause a short circuit in the latch for the sliding door, which could cause a fire, Chrysler told regulators.

As many as 288,968 Chrysler Jeep Wranglers from model year 2007 to 2010 could experience leaking brake fluid which could cause brake failure.

These two recalls are in addition to one first reported last Friday for as many as 25,336 Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass vehicles for the 2007 model year involving possible sticky accelerator pedals.

Owners of the models involved in each of the recalls are to be notified by Chrysler this month and Chrysler said it will fix the vehicles without charge.

Chrysler, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, is managed by Fiat SpA (FIA.MI).

This article was written by Bernie Woodall and was provided by Reuters

Companies and businesses that create and sell products have a responsibility to ensure that those products are designed and manufactured safely. Unfortunately, defective products harm millions of people every year, as the desire to maximize profits too often trumps the responsibility to keep consumers safe. These companies should be held responsible for defective products through personal injury litigation.

Contact the Personal Injury Trial Attorneys at Murphy Law Firm if you have been injured by a defective product at 225-928-8800.

Friday, May 21, 2010

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - With a huge and unpredictable oil slick drifting in the Gulf of Mexico, state and federal authorities are preparing to deal with a variety of hazards to human health if and when the full brunt of the toxic mess washes ashore.

The list of potential threats runs from temporary, minor nuisances such as runny noses and headaches to long-term risks such as cancer if contaminated seafood ends up in the marketplace. While waiting to see how bad things will get, public health agencies are monitoring air quality, drinking water supplies and seafood processing plants and advising people to take precautions.

"We don't know how long this spill will last or how much oil we'll be dealing with, so there's a lot of unknowns," said Dr. Jimmy Guidry, Louisiana's state health director. "But we're going to make things as safe as humanly possible."

Oil has been spewing into the Gulf at a rate of at least 200,000 gallons a day since an offshore drilling rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 people. Little if any has reached land thus far, but shifts in wind speed and direction could propel the slick toward populated areas.

In a possible hint of things to come, a foul stench drifted over parts of southwestern Louisiana last week. The oil probably was the culprit, said Alan Levine, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, whose office heard about dozens of complaints - even from state legislators in New Orleans, some 130 miles from the leaky undersea well.

"Their eyes were burning, they felt nauseated, they were smelling it," Levine said.

Farther up the coast at Shell Beach, marina operator and commercial fisherman Robert Campo said the smell gave him a headache as he collected oysters 20 miles offshore. "It was rotten," he said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has began round-the-clock air monitoring in Gulf coastal areas and posting online hourly readings for ozone and tiny particles such as soot. Both can cause respiratory problems and are particuarly aggravating for people with chronic conditions such as asthma.

Crude oil emits volatile organic compounds that react with nitrogen oxides to produce ozone. Fires being set by the Coast Guard to burn off oil on the water's surface would produce sooty, acrid smoke.

"We don't know what the impacts are going to be yet," said Dave Bary, an EPA spokesman in Dallas. "We don't know in what direction this oil will go."

The potential for unhealthy air quality depends on a variety of factors, particularly the speed and direction of winds that could disperse fumes and determine where they go, said Jonathan Ward, an environmental toxicology professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

With the leaky Gulf well some 50 miles offshore, Ward said much of the oil vapor likely wouldn't reach land, although the potential for air pollution from the slick will remain as long as the leak continues.

Public health agencies in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi advised people near the coast who experience nausea, headaches or other smell-related ailments to stay inside, turn on air conditioners and avoid exerting themselves outdoors.

In addition to air pollution, officials also were guarding against health problems from tainted drinking water and seafood.

Some communities, including New Orleans, get their supplies from the Mississippi River. Its southerly currents will prevent oil from drifting upstream to city intake pipes, and the Coast Guard is making sure that any ships with oil-coated hulls are scrubbed down before proceeding up the river, Guidry said.

Even so, the state health department has ordered testing of municipal water systems near the Gulf for signs of oil.

"It's next to impossible that a high amount would get in," Guidry said. "Even if some got through, more than likely the treatment system would eliminate it."

The department this week began taking samples at seafood processing plants. Officials have ordered a temporary moratorium on fishing in federal waters from the Mississippi River to the Florida Panhandle, but sampling will provide benchmarks enabling scientists to track any increases in contaminant levels once fishing is allowed to resume.

Louisiana health officials said they believe fish, shrimp and other Gulf delicacies already on the market are safe.

"If we see increases in hydrocarbons or other contaminants, we'd stop the flow of seafood," Levine said.

Even after the immediate crisis passes, risks could linger for years, said Gina Solomon, an associate professor at the University of California-San Francisco medical school and a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

"Exposure to some of the chemicals in oil has been linked to cancer," Solomon said. "Those chemicals can get into sediments in the Gulf, build in the food chain and be a long-term problem in fish and shellfish."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with epidemiologists in the Gulf states to develop studies of health repercussions from the oil spill, Guidry said.

Yet another hazard is direct contact with oil-saturated water - particularly for cleanup crews and volunteers involved in animal rescue operations.

When the container ship Cosco Busan hit a bridge and released 53,000 gallons of highly toxic bunker fuel into San Francisco Bay in November 2007, officials managing the cleanup ordered volunteers to wear protective suits, gloves and masks that later were discarded at a hazardous waste dump. Some oil fouled beaches, which were closed to prevent danger to the public.

People working around the Gulf spill should be equipped with respirator devices and wear heavy-duty gloves and protective clothing to guard against painful skin rashes, said Solomon, who has treated patients exposed to oil fumes.

Our Goal

The goal at Murphy Law Firm is to make sure you're not a victim twice. Baton Rouge lawyers, Peyton Murphy, Scott Emonet, and Joe'l Freeman are experienced in accident and injury cases including wrongful death and strive to maximize the recovery of their clients. They know the innocent party could easily become the victim of the insurance company by settling for less than 100% of what's rightfully owed.

Make sure you know your rights before being taken advantage of by big insurance companies.